Allison Williams comes of age on ‘Girls’

Published March 10. 2013 12:01AM

YVONNE VILLARREAL, Los Angeles Times

Allison Williams, one-quarter of the coming-of-age female confederation in HBO's "Girls," finds herself at the center of a heated discussion, at least among the show's modest but fervent audience: Is Marnie a bad friend? Or is Hannah a bad friend?

The culturally polarizing comedy spent much of its debut season redefining sexual parameters and narcissism for the millennial generation. But friendships are at the core of the Lena Dunham-created series, and they're experiencing growing pains. The on-the-surface unusual bond between Williams' Marnie (the uptight friend) and Dunham's Hannah (the carefree friend) no longer has the tape of college keeping their friendship together as they transition into the scarier world of adulthood.

And the troubled relationship, which produced a simmer-to-boil screamfest at the end of Season 1 over who was a bad friend, has been the driving undercurrent of the show's sophomore term and the talk of the blogosphere.

"This morning, I sneezed and someone that was in the apartment next to me said 'Bless you' through the wall," Williams said. "So it's weird to think I'm part of a larger cultural conversation. It's all about Team Marnie or Team Hannah."

The show, which wraps its second season March 17, has become a cultural touchstone whose every move has invoked passionate study from those who love it and even more from those who loathe it. And its characters have secured their place in the "Which character are you?" query that was once a hallmark of the "Sex and the City" era - this despite an audience that hovers around 700,000 viewers.

Looking Marnie-esque in a prim, just-below-the-knee mint-colored dress and sling-back pumps, the 24-year-old actress (and daughter of NBC News anchor Brian Williams) confesses that she hasn't let go of the Craigs-list-found Santa Monica apartment she moved into when she first left the East Coast three years ago to pursue acting more earnestly. She's been preoccupied.

Williams, whose only prior TV credit was a blip on NBC's "American Dreams," landed an audition for the HBO comedy shortly after moving into the thin-walled apartment. Though the famous parents of the cast (Jemima Kirke's dad Simon drummed for Bad Company; Zosia Mamet's dad is playwright-director David Mamet) has spurred criticism of spoon-fed success, Williams can't thank her dad for the gig. Comic juggernaut Judd Apatow and his obsession with all things "Mad Men" merits the gratitude.

Williams had performed and recorded (in one take) a twist to the AMC drama's instrumental theme song, set to the lyrics from "Nature Boy" and posted it online - complete with elbow-length gloves and a demure smile. Apatow was responsible for one of the more than 906,000 views it has amassed since October 2010.

"I thought she would be the perfect counterpoint to Lena," said Apatow, an executive producer on "Girls." "A girl who seems to have it all figured out who is classically beautiful and wound a little tight."

Dunham needed more persuading to cast Williams as the gallery girl with resolve. "I thought 'gorgeous voice, great hair, what else is new in Hollywood,'" Dunham said via email. "I had to meet Allison to understand just how cheeky and intelligent that video really was, and just why Judd felt so strongly about her."

Now viewers are feeling strongly about Marnie. The first season painted a portrait of a Type A know-it-all who gave the appearance that she had it all together; the one who schedules her friend's abortion appointments. The one who has sex with her bra on. That person completely unravels in the second season: She's jobless, boyfriend-less and bra-less during sex. And not always a likable person, which Williams acknowledges.

“I don't always think, 'God, I wish I could be friends with her,'" she said. "I think it would be a little frustrating. But I also sort of know how I would handle her. I would be like, 'Don't manage any of my life. Don't try to control me.' I think I'm half-Marnie. But I'm a lot more like Hannah - she's steadfast with her passion."

Despite her parents' news background - her mother is a television news producer - Williams never considered that as a career path. A 1939 film had been too alluring as a young girl.

"I was about 5 when I saw 'The Wizard of Oz,'" she said. "I just thought it was so amazing that they all played two characters and I was like, 'What kind of job is that?' Once I realized it was acting, I knew I wanted to do it."

Her parents had a strict no-acting-until-you-graduate-college policy in place (with the exception of "American Dreams"). Cruel and unusual punishment for Williams, particularly in 2004.

"When 'Mean Girls' came out, I just thought Lindsay Lohan was genius. I didn't understand how I could ever come close to that if they didn't let me start young," she said. "I've come to realize it's not a zero-sum game. When I see performances like Jennifer Lawrence's in 'Silver Linings Playbook,' I think, 'God, what a great role.' But maybe, just maybe, she watches 'Girls' and maybe, just maybe, she wishes she was on 'Girls.'"

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